The Gospel
The good news of Jesus Christ
The Bible is an amazing book with the central theme: Jesus Christ came into the world to redeem sinful people.
The Gospel Begins with God
Mankind is not allowed to define God however they choose. God has revealed Himself to us through the pages of His Holy Word, the Bible. Here are a few things that the Bible says about God:
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Creator
Genesis 1:1
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In Genesis 1:1, the Bible says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” This simply means that according to the Bible, God is the one who created the entire universe and everything in it.
Holy
Isaiah 6:3
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The Bible also makes it very clear that God is holy. Holy means that God is entirely perfect, set apart, and completely unique. There is nothing like Him for He is entirely set apart from all of His creations. In Isaiah 6:3, the Bible says, “And one (the angels) called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
Good & Just
Exodus 34:6-7
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If God was simply holy that would be bad news, but God is also wonderfully good and just. Even though mankind is sinful, God is good. In Exodus 34:6-7 the Bible says, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, Keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who all by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” In other words, the God of the Bible is a gracious God who delights in forgiving sin and is overflowing in grace and mercy. However, the God of the Bible is also just, which means He cannot ignore sin or turn a blind eye to evil. As Exodus 34 clearly says, God will not “clear the guilty,” but He will judge those who continue in sin. The good news of the Gospel begins with believing that the God of the Bible is who He says He is.
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The Gospel is Necessary because
All People are Sinners
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The Gospel is the good news about Jesus Christ coming into the world to save sinners. However, the good news of the Gospel assumes that there is also bad news. The bad news is that all men and women who have ever lived are sinners. According to the Bible, mankind is not basically good with a few mistakes here and there. No, according to the Bible all of humanity is born in sin. Listen to what God’s Word says about our sin:
What these verses say about the condition of all humanity is not pleasant, but it is true. Every one of us sins on a regular basis, whether that be in our thoughts, words, or actions, sin is a regular part of the human condition. However, just because sin is normal for all mankind, it does not make it acceptable before God. Not at all! Actually, in the Bible God assures us that He must punish sin because sin is ultimately against God. In Psalm 51:3-4, David wrote, “For I know my transgressions (sin), and my sin is ever before me. Against you, and you only, I have sinned and done what is evil in your sight.” Sin is evil and sin is against God, and so God must punish sin.
Not only is sin against God, but we learn in Genesis 2:17 that death exists because of sin. God said to Adam that if you eat of the forbidden tree, “you shall surely die.” This death is referring to physical death, spiritual death, and eternal death. Because of sin physical death is now a reality. However, because of sin, spiritual and eternal death are also realities. Now, all people who do not repent of their sin and turn to Jesus Christ to be their Savior will experience spiritual and eternal death, which ends in separation from God for all eternity.
In Hebrews 9:27, the Bible says that, “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” This simply means that because of sin every person will be judged by God when they die. The judgment from God for sin is serious. In the Bible, Revelation 20:15 says, “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” This lake of fire, what is commonly referred to as hell, is a real place. A place where people are punished for all eternity because they did not repent of their sins. The reality of sin and the necessity of punishment for sin is the “bad news” of the gospel. But it is very important to understand the “bad news,” because when we begin to understand the bad news we realize why Jesus had to die in our place and take the punishment that we deserved for sin.
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The Gospel Proclaims that
Jesus died in your place
Because God is holy and just, He must punish sin. If God turned a blind eye to sin, then He would no longer be Holy or Just. But because God is good and abounding in loving kindness, He provides a way for sinful men and women to be reconciled to Himself. This is the amazing, good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Gospel Demands Repentance
God's Word is clear; the only way to be forgiven and reconciled with God is to repent of your sins and turn to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
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Because of who God is and because of how sinful mankind is, reconciliation with God necessitated the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross. However, the question has yet to be answered, how can a person receive this gift of forgiveness and reconciliation with God?​
So what does it mean to repent? It literally means "to turn away." So to repent of your sins means to recognize that your sins are a heinous offense against a holy God and that because of sin you deserve eternal punishment. To repent of your sins then is to both agree with God about your sin and to cry out to God in faith believing that Jesus is willing and able to forgive you of your sin. God has promised in His Word to save all who repent and believe! This brief walk through of the good news of Jesus Christ demands a question: have you repented? Have you recognized your sin for what it is and turned from it?